May Day Fun: The Forgotten Festivals

A lot is made of Strawberry and MIDI in Beijing during the May holidays. People bitch and moan that they both take place during the same days making it hard to choose which one to go to. But, my pretty babies of the rock n roll, did you know that there was even more festivals happening in town? oh yeah… so what to do if you’re not in the mood to trek to MIDI or Strawberry? Let’s see:

1- Chaoyang Park 2014 Pop Music Festival 2014潮流音乐节

3 days, 16 countries, 40 bands: That’s a lot of value for a daily 5 RMB door fee! Sponsored by the government and various embassies, this little downtown shindig is basically accessible to all with a ticket to get in the park. I have been unable to find a single schedule on the inter webs but it is indeed happening and it will have a LATIN flavour. May 1-3.

2- CMV Pop Festival

China Music Valley was supposed to be the answer to all of the scene’s music woes…right.. home to the 2013 MIDI, it is truly a remarkable ground and remarkably fucking far away. They’re also doing 3 days of Music so Thursday/Friday/Saturday but with a local flavour: No international acts! Black Panther, Tang Dynasty, Suffocated, Buyi, Haoyun etc… you get the gist. They got shuttles and the whole nine yards but, in case you didn’t hear me the first time, it’s fucking far away.

information, times and lineup here: http://www.228.com.cn/ticket-49911441.html

3- Fuckberry Festival

The punks at DMC club in tongzhou are throwing their second edition of the anti-strawberry with the who’s who of the punk scene as well as some international acts like Germany’s Sick Times.
It’s fun, unpretentious and probably the easiest going way to just have a great time chilling and drinking with good kids. Spit and Mohawks optional.

4- All the other venues…

There are shows every fucking where folks. With so many bands in Beijing, they’re basically just looking for excuses to have a good time and play somewhere for a few more bucks. 2 Kolegas, Temple, Mako, Jianghu, Yugong, Mao… you name it. Shows are plenty.
Take note of Friday night at Temple when punk legends, DOA play alongside Germany’s Sick Times and other cool cats.

I’ll try to update a few times from the field but you’re better off following my weibo/twitter/instagram accounts to get an idea of what’s cooking.